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the future; it generates effort, ambition and identifi cation with the occupation.’ Staged career structures in other profes- sions stimulate people to efforts in pursuit of achievement in ways that classroom teachers’ careers, at least as they’re struc- tured at present, can never hope to match. The current challenge to those who wish to promote quality teaching is how to reform teacher career structures so that they pro- vide similar cycles of effort, attainment and renewed ambition. the career life cycle of a classroom teacher On the basis of many studies, Michael Huberman describes a career ‘life cycle’ of classroom teaching in fi ve stages. Huberman is careful to state that this is not a linear or monolithic model; it simply describes cen- tral tendencies that may be used to shed light on what happens to teachers as they progress through their careers. Huberman’s fi ve stages are: ? stage one – career entry, years one to three – a stage of ‘survival’ and ‘discov- ery,’ which is scary but exciting for those who survive ? stage two – stabilisation, years four to six – in which a teacher makes a com- mitment to remain in teaching, at least for the time being, becomingmore asser- tive with colleagues and more confi dent about pedagogy ? stage three – experimentation and diver- sifi cation, years seven to 18 – in which there’s an important fork in the road where, if the conditions are right, many confi dent teachers branch out and seek new challenges and new answers to peda- gogical problems and where, if the condi- tions are not right, professional develop- ment slows ? stage four – conservatism, complaint, serenity or relational distance, years 19 to 30 – in which some teachers retain the momentum to progress while others become ‘conservative,’ ‘ardent complain- ers’ or ‘serene’ as they start to develop a kind of distance from the more burden- some issues of their work ? stage fi ve – disengagement, years 31 to 40, in which, depending on the previous sequence, teachers become ‘serenely’ or ‘bitterly’ disengaged although, of course, there are some teachers who don’t really disengage, but use the perks of longev- ity to focus on preferred tasks, preferred classes and preferred subjects. These fi ve stages, Huberman warns, should not be taken as a blueprint for the careers of all teachers. They do point, how- ever, to the disadvantages of a fl at career structure that of itself does not generate the challenges of a more staged career like that, for example, of an offi ce boy who rises to become general manager of his company. teachers who become leaders Traditionally, schools have not been organ- ised as if they were professional organisa- tions. Leadership in professional organisa- tions is based on expertise. If schools were professional organisations, expert teachers would, for example, be freed up to work shoulder to shoulder with less experienced colleagues through cycles of planning, teach- ing and assessing student work together. Leadership would be leadership in profes- sional practice. Until recently, teachers who wanted to advance into leadership positions were obliged to give most of their attention to management and administration. The knowledge and skills of management, with its higher rewards of money and status, thus became privileged over the profes- sional knowledge and skills of teaching, even though the latter are more important determinants of whether a school achieves its objectives. This situation had many unfortunate consequences for schools, teachers and students. Because the teaching knowledge base was devalued,many teachers saw little point in trying to become skilled practi- tioners of their craft. Teachers who wanted to pay off the mortgage a little faster and earn the respect of their peers were better advised to take a higher degree in business administration than in education. By the time they attained their career goals many leaders had developed excellent manage- rial skills, but they lacked the necessary advanced professional knowledge to pro- vide the kind of strong instructional lead- ership that, according to research, has a signifi cant effect on student learning out- comes. It’s only comparatively recently, with the recognition that quality teaching is the major determinant of student achieve- ment, that emphasis has been placed on the responsibilities of school leaders to develop and demonstrate their own professional capacities as educationists, so that they may credibly lead and support the teachers in their schools. feature – career development 15